House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer says that state Senate President Brandon Shaffer and Rep. Sal Pace are “confident” about their chances to unseat newly elected Republican Reps. Scott Tipton and Cory Gardner in the next election cycle.

“We do two, three, four visits to recruit” prospective candidates, Hoyer said. “None of yours have to be convinced.”

Hoyer’s statements come as a surprise. Shaffer, D-Longmont, and Pace, D-Pueblo, have been cagey about whether they will run.

Yet asked this afternoon about Hoyer’s comments, Pace answered that the visit indeed had gone well.

“I did meet with Hoyer today, and based on that meeting I’m likely to put a campaign together,” Pace said.

“I think I had a good meeting with Congressman Hoyer,” Pace said. “I think it gave me the impression that it’s probably a good potential thing to do to put a campaign together.”

Pace says he hasn’t yet set a deadline for “pulling the trigger.”

Shaffer didn’t respond to a request for an interview.

Hoyer also added another name to the mix of “confident” potential candidates in a meeting today with The Denver Post editorial board – Perry Haney, an independently wealthy surgeon who lives in Greenwood Village, but who is from and owns a residence in Tipton’s district.

Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, says he favors $24 million Roaring Fork Valley Transit project but didn't sign a support letter because of the $15,000 in Wifi costs.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Scott Tipton declined to sign a letter in support of a $24 million project to improve the Roaring Fork Valley transit system because he doesn’t believe the buses should be equipped with Wifi, which cost about $15,000.

Democrat Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet penned a letter to the Federal Transit Administration supporting the project, calling it “shovel ready.” Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, whose 2nd Congressional District touches part of the transit area, also signed the letter.

“Congressman Tipton recognizes the importance of access to public transportation, and is supportive of that aspect of the RFTA project,” said Tipton spokesman Josh Green, during a House recess this week. “Despite Congressman Tipton’s support of the bus system, a full appropriation of $25 million that includes funds for broadband Internet access on the buses is a luxury we can’t afford in the midst of a $14.3 trillion deficit.”

Some environmental groups are already hammering Tipton for his inconsistency in that message, saying if he really cared about the deficit, he would support getting rid of oil and gas subsidies which cost $20 billion over 10 years — much more than what Wifi costs in the name of deficit reduction.

(By the way, the same groups are also ripping Rep. Cory Gardner for not supporting the repeal if oil and gas tax breaks.)

“Congressmen Tipton and Gardner asked people for their vote based on a promise to cut wasteful government spending. Instead both of them are supporting increased subsidies to benefit the natural gas industry,” Steve Ellis, vice president of the Taxpayers for Common Sense, said yesterday.

As for the project’s fate, it’s in the hands of the Federal Transit Administration, which approves projects nationwide. In the past, this may have gotten an earmark from a member who supported the project, but Congress is amid a no-earmarks legislative sesson so scheduled projects now need to go through the federal bureacracy.

Michael Hancock said today that Gov. John Hickenlooper has called Chris Romer to ask him to take down a TV ad that questions Hancock’s vote to give elected officials a pay raise.

Romer says that is not true but added that he is taking down the ad because it has run its course.

Hickenlooper’s spokesman Eric Brown late in the day issued a statement:

“The governor’s view about negative campaigning is well known. He doesn’t like it. He will not talk about the private conversations he has had with Chris Romer or Michael Hancock.”

Hancock brought up the issue this afternoon at a mayoral forum put on by the Rotary Club of Denver at the Denver Athletic Club.

“Gov. Hickenlooper called you and asked you to take it down because it tarnished the brand of Denver and the type of campaigns we run,” Hancock said. “Why when you knew that several of the major institutions of the city told you that elements of your commercial is false and lacked truth did you not take it down?”

Romer said the ad was factual.

“The facts are Michael Hancock did vote for a pay raise in 2007,” he said. “He did vote for a pay package for city employees that Mayor Hickenlooper vetoed. The facts are that just recently … he first voted against the pay raise and then voted for it. Those are the facts.”

Later, Romer said that Hickenlooper called him to just talk about the campaign and didn’t tell him to take down the commercial that questions Hancock’s City Council votes to give pay raises to both elected officials and city workers.

Romer said he returned a call from Hickenlooper, which he said was a call between good old friends.

“We talked about a lot of stuff, and he did not ask me to take the ad down,” Romer said. “We told him the ad was coming down on Tuesday and he said, ‘oh, great. I just wanted to know what you are up to.'”

Romer’s spokeswoman Laura Chapin called after this post was published and said that Romer did tell Hickenlooper that he would remove any mention of the governor from the ad. But the campaign decided instead to remove the ad because it had reached its optimum number of viewings.

(Updated at 5:37 p.m. to add CSA and Mayor’s office response at the end.)

City Auditor Dennis Gallagher added a potential debate question to the mayoral runoff this morning, alerting the city that oversight of its personnel system – which doles out more than half a billion dollars in pay and benefits each year – is bedeviled by “numerous and serious problems.”

From the presser:

“This is one of the largest cost centers in the City but our investigations have determined that it is not only flawed and poorly governed but completely unaccountable to the Mayor, the City Council, my Office or the taxpayers. That is a prescription for disaster and that is what I believe we have seen,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher noted that he was releasing the Audit Alert because he believed the current system is untenable and that with a new Council and Administration coming on board – as well as the ongoing budget crisis – this is an optimal time to give decision-makers a chance to address critical issues.

“Four recent performance audits of CSA and its processes indicate there are these serious flaws. Two of these audits have already been released and two are forthcoming this summer. It was my assessment that we needed to present decision-makers with some of what we have learned without waiting for the final two audits to be released. The Audit Alert, while not a full-blown audit report with findings and recommendations, presents an opportunity to call attention to these concerns by the incoming Mayor and Council as well as the Structural Financial Task Force.”

This is probably the one “endorsement” no Denver mayoral candidate sought.

Former Republican U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo, having lunch this week with radio host Peter Boyles and Westword editor Patricia Calhoun, said if he lived in Denver he would vote for City Councilman Michael Hancock.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo says if he lived in Denver, he would vote for Michael Hancock.

Reached this morning on his new Android phone, Tancredo said he likes Hancock’s story.

“It’s not really based on a hell of a lot more than his life story. It’s compelling,” said Tancredo, who lives in Lakewood. “I’m not that tuned in to some of the other issues. I don’t know how they differ. But he has an interesting and compelling and life story.”

But Tancredo admitted he is not a fan of Romer’s record on immigration issues. He assumes, however, that Hancock’s stances are similar.

“He is very liberal on that. I know. But I bet Hancock is too,” he said.

The former GOP congressman and American Constitution Party gubernatorial candidate is probably the country’s best-known advocate for tougher immigration laws.

Tancredo’s nod is a difficult one as the two mayoral candidates are battling for the progressive liberal voter, among other camps. Both campaigns this week have issued press releases and e-mails declaring they are more liberal than their opponent.Read more…

The school reports mold spore counts at four times the recommended level. Cleaning crews have wiped down walls and floors, replaced air filters and otherwise tried to get rid of the dust from the 30 bales of hay.

The school was cleared out Monday, after students and staff arrived to find the hay spread about.

“It was a dust cloud in there,” said Kevin Camp, a teacher at DHS, who was quoted in a Herald story. “It was like walking through fog.”

The Herald reports there is a police investigation into who brought the hay into the school as well as a school inquiry. It’s a pretty sure bet the perpetrators are going to be caught. The school had a surveillance system, and high schools being what they are — well, probably half the school already knows who did it.

But beyond all that, there is a hopeful, happy note to this. A city councilor once reminded his constituents that Durango is not Mayberry, the idyllic television town. And he was right. Durango has its share of domestic violence, meth and other problems.

But how many high school principals, how many police officers, parents and students in other places, would gladly trade what they face every day for a youth culture in which the misbehavior of the year involves dumping hay in the hall?

Durango is not Mayberry. But if this is the worst our kids do, this community is in pretty good shape.

Presentation in the wake of DADT repeal: Air Force cadets are now required to watch a Powerpoint presentation outlining the military’s new policy for enlisted homosexuals. It outlines strict rules banning discrimination of gays and spelling out that berthing quarters will not be segregated based on sexual orientation. The Gazette

“What in the hell is state government doing that’s in your way,” Romero said, “and what can we do to help clear and cut, remove and just be a good blocker, be a good supporting agent for local economies as they pursue their local recovery?” state economic development chief Dwayne Romero in The Gazette

Prepping for drought: State agencies have recommended to Gov. John Hickenlooper the activation of an agricultural impact task force in response to a drought that continues in 60 percent of the state. The Chieftain

Energy education: Boulder’s $113,000 campaign to educate voters about energy options that will very likely appear on the ballot this fall is ramping up to an apex before Colorado election law kicks in and effectively shuts down the city’s efforts later this summer. The “energy future” campaign — one of the most expensive marketing efforts in the city’s history — is aimed at educating Boulder residents about the city’s energy options. Daily Camera

Timothy Wirth on leadership: A conversation with the UN Foundation president and former U.S. representative Washington Post

Tipton discusses Thompson Divide: Congressman Scott Tipton met privately Tuesday with a local advocacy group aiming to eliminate gas drilling leases in order to conserve land and water resources in the Thompson Divide. Aspen Daily News

Residents push dispensary ban in Ft. Collins: Medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations would be banned from Fort Collins under an ordinance proposed by a group of city residents that includes Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith. The Coloradoan

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.